1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a waterproof connector, particularly relates to a waterproof connector devised to provide waterproof to a connector for bringing an electric wire into press contact with a press contact blade by breaking a cover of the electric wire by the press contact blade by pressing the electric wire into the press contact blade.
The present invention further relates to a waterproof connector, more in details, relates to a waterproof connector facilitating operation of filling a seal member to a seal member filling layer and capable of waterproofing firmly.
2. Related Art
As shown by FIG. 10(A), generally, an automobile 1100 is provided with left and right headlamps 1102, 1103, left and right direction indicator lamps 1104, 1105 and the like at a front bumper 1101 and is provided with left and right tail lamps 1107, 1108 and the like at a rear bumper 1106.
A wire harness is wired to the headlamps 1102, 1103, the direction indicator lamps 1104, 1105 and the tail lamps 1107, 1108. As an example of wiring the wire harness, a circuit shown in FIG. 10(B) is known.
That is, in a circuit 110 shown in FIG. 10(B), connectors 1111, 1112 for the left and right headlamps are connected to lamp cases of the left and right headlamps 1102, 1103, connectors 1113, 1114 for the left and right direction indicator lamps are connected to lamp cases of the left and right direction indicator lamps 1104, 1105, and connectors 1115, 1116 for the left and right tail lamps are connected to lamp cases of the left and right tail lamps 1107, 1108.
At this occasion, a wire harness 1118 is wired to a portion of the automobile 1100 which is liable to be influenced by water and therefore, waterproof is requested to the connectors 1111 through 1116 and a waterproof connector meeting the request has been proposed, for example, as shown in Japanese Patent 3268945.
According to a waterproof connector 1120 of the publication, as shown by FIG. 12, a housing 1121 is constituted by integrating a main body 1122 and a lid member 1123, and inside of the housing 1121 is inwardly mounted with wire connecting portions 1125A of a plurality of connecting terminals 1125 connected with wire harnesses 1124 and fit to counter side connecting terminals.
At least one of the main body 1122 and the lid member 1123 is provided with partition walls (not illustrated) for partitioning the connecting terminals 1125 in parallel and an adhering member 1127 is filled at vicinities of the wire connecting portions 1125A to thereby provide waterproof between the main body 1122 and the lid member 1123.
Namely, the waterproof connector described above used in the circuit in which a housing 1121 is constituted by a main body 1122 formed with a terminal mounting portion mounted with a connecting terminal 1125 and a lid member 1123, the terminal mounting portion coated with butyl rubber is arranged with the connecting terminal 1125 and the lid member 1125 coated with the butyl rubber is covered thereto to waterproof.
Therefore, it seems that the wire harnesses 1124 can preferably be connected to the left and right headlamps 1102, 1103 and the left and right direction indicator lamps 1104, 1105 provided at the front bumper 1101 and the left and right tail lamps 1107, 1108 provided at the rear bumper 1106 of the automobile 1100 shown in FIG. 10(A) in a waterproof state by using the waterproof connector 1120 of the publication.
Further, there is also a constitution in which a cover made to be openable and closable to a housing is provided, an ultraviolet ray cured resin is filled to the cover, a connecting terminal is inserted into the housing and thereafter, the cover is closed and a clearance thereof is filled by a gel-like ultraviolet ray cured resin in liquid tight, for example, as shown in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication Hei. 10-284170.
Further, there is disclosed a constitution in which a housing is formed by a main body having a terminal holding portion formed with a terminal containing groove and a cover covering the terminal holding portion, an adhering seal agent is filled to the terminal holding portion and the cover arranged with a connecting terminal and the cover is covered thereto, the housing is oscillated from outside by an ultrasonic wave to thereby cure the adhering seal agent and weld the terminal holding portion and the cover (refer to, for example, as shown in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication Hei. 11-121084.
Further, there is also known a constitution in which a pair of jelly containing frames are openably and closably provided opposedly to a connecting terminal fitting portion of a connector housing, a connecting terminal is inserted thereto and thereafter, the connecting terminal fitting portion is closed by the pair of jelly containing frames containing a silicone jelly to thereby waterproof, for example, as shown in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication Hei. 11-329573.
However, according to the circuit 1110 shown in FIG. 10(B), the wire harness 1118 is connected to a main connector 1119, the terminal connectors 1111 through 1116 connected to the lamp cases are connected to the wire harness 1118 and therefore, the circuit 1110 becomes complicated, time and labor for making the circuit 1110 is taken and in recent years, reduction of a wire harness circuit 1130 shown in FIG. 11 to practice has been desired.
According to the wire harness circuit 1130 shown in FIG. 11, press contact blades 1132 are provided to respective connectors 1131, and by pressing wire harnesses 1133 into receiving recess portions of the press contact blades 1132, the wire harnesses 1133 are connected to the press contact blades 1132 by breaking covers of the wire harnesses 1133 by the press contact blades 1132.
Therefore, the wire harnesses 1133 can simply be connected to the press contact blades 1132 and the wire harness circuit 1130 can be made without taking time and labor.
By arranging the respective connectors 1131 of the wire harness circuit to rear face sides of the front bumper 1101 and the rear bumper 1106 to connect to the lamp cases of the left and right headlamps 1102, 1103, the left and right direction indicator lamps 1104, 1105 and the left and right tail lamps 1107, 1108, the left and right headlamps 1102, 1103, the left and right direction indicator lamps 1104, 1105 and the left and right tail lamps 1107, 1108 can be connected to a battery of the automobile.
However, the respective connectors 1131 of the wire harness circuit 1130 shown in FIG. 11 are different from the terminal connectors 1111 through 1116 of the circuit 1116 shown in FIG. 10(B) in structures thereof and therefore, a waterproofing structure used in the connectors 1111 through 1116 shown in FIG. 10(B) is not applicable to the respective connectors 1131 of FIG. 11 as it is.
Therefore, the waterproofing structure constituted by the respective connectors 1131 of the wire harness circuit 1130 shown in FIG. 11 has not yet been reduced to practice and the respective connectors 1131 of the wire harness circuit 1131 which are waterproofed have been desired to be reduced to practice.
That is, all of the waterproof connectors disclosed above are constituted by a structure in which a connecting terminal (for example, male terminal) is fixedly attached to a terminal of an electric wire and fit to a connecting terminal (for example, female terminal) of a counter connector to thereby electrically connect to each other. In contact thereto, the connector used in the wire harness circuit 130 needs to be attachable in a state in which a waterproof connector is connected to a middle portion of each electric wire and each electric wire passes the waterproof connector, that is, in a through state. A waterproof connector attachable with each electric wire in the through state in this way has not been reduced to practice.
Further, according to the waterproof connectors of the prior art disclosed above, waterproof is carried out by injecting a seal member of butyl rubber, an ultraviolet ray cured resin, an adhering seal agent or silicone jelly or the like and thereafter covering the cover or the like and therefore, the seal member is extruded by the cover and there is a drawback of bringing about leakage, extrusion or the like of the seal member. Further, since a position of injecting the seal member is unclear, depending on an operator, a dispersion in a position of coating or an amount of injecting the seal member is liable to be produced and there is a concern that a waterproof function differs for respective products and a product value is deteriorated by extrusion of the seal member such that when the amount of injecting the seal member is small, the seal member is not distributed to a portion which needs to fill and the waterproof function becomes deficient and when the amount of injecting the seal member is large, the outlook is deteriorated by extruding the seal member.
Further, in order to prevent the seal member from being hung, until the seal member is cured, the wire harness cannot be transported to a successive step to handle and there poses a problem that an operational efficiency is poor. Further, a cover is mounted at a final step of integrating steps and therefore, in the meantime, movement of the electric wire, the connecting terminal and a connecting portion thereof is not restricted and when an external force is operated to the electric wire or the like, the electric wire is shifted from a predetermined position or connection of the connecting portion becomes unstable and there is a concern of effecting an adverse influence on the function of the wire harness.